Latest news with #MerchantCategoryCode
Mint
06-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
HDFC Bank credit card charges changing from July 1: What you need to know
Banks review their credit card rewards program regularly and make changes to make sure it can be offered on a sustainable basis in the long run. HDFC Bank has announced changes to its credit card rewards program which are applicable from 1st July 2025. The bank has introduced some monthly usage thresholds in specified categories. For spends beyond the threshold, a specified fee will be charged. In this article, we will understand these categories, the usage threshold, and the fee applicable for usage beyond the threshold. The cardholder will not get any reward points for transactions done on online skill-based gaming platforms. Some of these platforms include (but not limited to) Dream11, Rummy Culture, Junglee Games, MPL, etc. If the cardholder spends more than Rs. 10,000 in a month on these platforms, a 1% charge will apply. The charge will be capped at Rs. 4,999 per month. If the Rs. 10,000 monthly threshold is exceeded, the charge will apply to the entire spends for the month in this category. The online skill-based gaming platforms will be identified through the Merchant Category Code (MCC): 5816. If the cardholder uses the credit card to load third-party wallets with a cumulative amount of more than Rs. 10,000 in a month, a 1% charge will apply. The charge is applicable for wallet loading on platforms like (but not limited to) Paytm, Mobikwik, Freecharge, Ola Money, etc. The 1% charge will be capped at Rs. 4,999 per month. If the Rs. 10,000 monthly threshold is exceeded, the charge will apply to the entire spends for the month in this category. The wallet loading platforms will be identified through the Merchant Category Code (MCC): 6540. If the amount spent on utility bill payments is more than Rs. 50,000 in a month, a 1% charge will apply. The utility bill payments include prepaid and postpaid mobile bills, electricity, DTH, broadband, etc. The 1% charge will be capped at Rs. 4,999 per month. If the Rs. 50,000 monthly threshold is exceeded, the charge will apply to the entire spends for the month in this category. Insurance premium payment transactions will not be considered utility transactions. Hence, the 1% charge will not be applicable to these transactions. The utility transactions will be identified through the Merchant Category Code (MCC): 4900. Earlier, HDFC Bank credit cards had a daily limit on the maximum reward points that can be earned for insurance transactions. However, from 1st July, there will be a monthly limit on the maximum reward points that can be earned for insurance transactions. For the Infinia and the Infinia Metal credit cards, the current limit of 5,000 reward points per day has been changed to 10,000 reward points per month. For Diners Black, Diners Black Metal, H.O.G Diners Club, and Biz Black Metal credit cards, the current limit of 5,000 reward points per day has been changed to 5,000 reward points per month. For all other credit cards, the current limit of 2,000 reward points per day has been changed to 2,000 reward points per month. The insurance transactions will be identified through the Merchant Category Code (MCC): 1411, 1235, 5960, 6300, and 6381. Transactions in the rent, fuel, and education categories already attract a 1% charge. From 1st July, the maximum charge per transaction has been revised to Rs. 4,999 for these categories. In the rent category, the 1% charge is applicable on all transactions. In the fuel category, the 1% charge is applicable on transactions exceeding Rs. 15,000. If the transaction amount exceeds Rs. 15,000, the charge will be applicable on the entire transaction amount. In the education category, the 1% charge is applicable only on transactions done through third-party apps. Some of these apps include (but not limited to) Cred, Nobroker, Cheq, etc. If the transaction is done on the school or college website/POS machine, there will be no charges. International education transactions will not be charged. If you are an HDFC Bank credit cardholder with reasonable spends in the categories like wallet loading, utility bill payments, fuel etc., you need not worry. As long as your spends are within the specified limits, the 1% charge will not be applicable to you. If you pay the education fee directly on the institute website or POS machine, the 1% charge will not be applicable to you. The spend-based thresholds for charging the 1% fee have been brought in to ensure there is fair usage of the credit cards. It will prevent the bad actors from abusing the credit cards. Most people with spends lower than the spend-based thresholds will not be impacted by the new 1% charge effective from 1st July. Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas public school students will soon be required to take gun safety courses
The Arkansas state Senate passed a bill to provide age-appropriate firearms safety instruction to students last week and the Arkansas Department of Education will be working with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to develop a plan. Act 229, also known as House Bill 1117, will require public school districts and open-enrollment public charter schools to annually provide students with instruction on firearm safety. The bill's sponsors say the idea came from conversations among neighbors. Public School Students In This State Could Soon Be Required To Take Gun Safety Courses "All of our children play together and invade whatever home happens to be the play of the day. And in that process, they may go into a neighbor's home and discover that unsecured firearm, and how would they react," said Rep. Scott Richardson. The bill says it will empower the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission to work with the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to create and approve age-appropriate firearm safety courses. Read On The Fox News App Methods discussed in the bill range from videos to online sources and even mentions the possibility of an off-campus, commission-approved firearm safety course in conjunction with a live-fire exercise or sporting event. Although these are just options being discussed at this time, the bill does state that if an option of live-fire training is approved, parents will have to give consent. "If an off-campus, commission-approved firearm safety course is provided in conjunction with a live-fire exercise or sporting event, the provider of the off-campus, commission-approved firearm safety course and the public school district or open-enrollment public charter school in which the participating student is enrolled shall obtain prior written approval from the participating student's parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to the participating student," according to the bill. Georgia House Advances Gun Safety Training Tax Credit, Ban On Gun Store Merchant Category Code The committee will also be responsible for determining the earliest grade appropriate for students to begin receiving the training. Instruction will begin with the 2025-2026 school article source: Arkansas public school students will soon be required to take gun safety courses
